How to Develop Incentive Travel Programs for the Workplace

These Tips Will Help You Tie Incentive Travel to Organizational Goals

Would you like to sip cool drinks on a tropical island? Would you like the experience even more if your spouse or partner were next to you and your company paid for everything? Sure you would. Incentive travel programs are a reward incentive your employees really like.

What Is Incentive Travel?

Incentive travel is a reward for achieving a goal. For example, every salesperson who produces $X worth of sales gets a free trip to the Carribean. These trips can offer pure fun or can combine a few company events along with the pleasurable vacation.

Spouses or partners are usually invited to make the incentive travel a vacation rather than an additional work event. Incentive travel programs are most frequently found in sales, financial services, and insurance.

Can Incentive Travel Help You Meet Goals Better Than a Bonus?

Everyone likes cash. But, a trip is a special option for employees. It gives them something to look forward to; it's not just an additional payment on their student loans. Of course, not every employee would prefer a trip to cash, but incentive travel has advantages over cash bonuses.

For instance, if you pay out cash bonuses, you can announce that “the following 10 people achieved their goals and will each receive $2500.” This announcement is not as public as an award that provides a trip.

When these same 10 employees go to the Carribean together, they are out of the office, they are on social media, and people talk. The incentive travel provided becomes a focal point for the staff to encourage them to meet the upcoming year’s goals.

Generating discussion and interest can help motivate your employees. Every time they see their pictures from the trip, they’ll hope that they can meet the criteria for the next trip.

So, all employees will be aware, all of the time, of this particular travel incentives program. Culturally, people don’t talk about money, so once you hand out a bonus check the recipient might hear a congratulation or two. But six months later no one will say, “Hey, remember when you got that $2500 bonus and made an extra payment on your student loans?” It just won't happen. Money, once spent, is quickly forgotten.

The Affect of Incentive Travel Programs on Spouses and Families

For reward travel, you'll want to include partners. You may think you are saving costs to say “only spouses” or “only spouses and live in partners” can participate in incentive travel. But this defeats what you want: for people to have a good time and look forward to going.

If this means that Jane brings her sister as her partner, who cares? You should not base Jane's earned reward on her marital status when it comes to a plus one.

Take into consideration also that spouses and partners who are not invited or able to travel will not regard your reward as a positive. "You mean you’re going to the Bahamas for three days while I stay home with the kids?” So, make the choice about whether to pay the way of a plus one carefully.

Consider providing help with babysitting. Not all of your employees have grandparents nearby who are eager to take care of children. You may have employees who can’t take advantage of incentive travel because of childcare issues. This is not just a single mom issue. Anyone with a child can find overnight travel more hassle than it’s worth.

What Employers Need to Do If an Employee Can’t Attend

Remember, this is a reward. Don’t punish an employee who is unable to attend. When your group consists of more than a couple of people, finding a time when everyone is available is often impossible.

Offer a cash bonus to these people. But, because your hoped-for bi-product from incentive travel program rewards is team building with your employees, you can pay less than the actual cash value of the trip.